Advancements in communication technologies have permitted the introduction, and popularization of new types of communication systems. In various of such new types of communication systems, the rates of data transmission and the corresponding amount of data permitted to be communicated, has increased relative to existing types of communication systems.
New types of radio communication systems are exemplary of communication systems that have been made possible as a result of advancements in communication technologies. Communication channels of a radio communication system are formed upon radio links, thereby obviating the need for conventional wire line connections between sending and receiving stations operable therein. A radio communication system, therefore, inherently permits increased communication mobility in contrast to conventional wire line systems.
A cellular communication system is exemplary of a radio communication system. Cellular communication systems, constructed according to various communication standards, have been installed throughout significant areas of the world. A mobile station operable in the cellular communication system permits a user to communicate telephonically therethrough when the mobile station is positioned within an area encompassed by the communication system.
The development and implementation of new cellular, as well as other, communication systems capable of communicating packet-formatted data have been made possible as a result of advancements in digital communication techniques. An exemplary cellular communication system which provides for the communication of packet-formatted data is set forth in the IS-95 standard promulgated by the EIA/TIA. Ongoing efforts are made to make improvements to the initial implementation of the standard. The IS-2000 standard, for instance, also sets forth operational parameters for a cellular communication system that is predicated, in part, upon the IS-95 system. Both the IS-95 and IS-2000 communication standards utilize CDMA (Code-Division, Multiple-Access) communication techniques. The standards are sometimes referred to as the IS-95/IS-2000 family of standards.
Deployment of a so-called 1×EV-DO technology together with an IS-95/IS-2000 based communication system has also been proposed. An IS-95 system which deploys 1×EV-DO technology is an evolutionary step from the IS-2000 system and deploys a packet data wireless technology. The 1×EV-DO technology is somewhat disjoined from the IS-95/IS-2000 family of standards in that a system in which the 1×EV-DO technology is deployed is unable to share the same frequencies as the frequencies of existing IS-95 and IS-2000 systems. The 1×EV-DO technology utilizes TDMA (Time-Division, Multiple-Access) schemes instead of the CDMA access scheme utilized in the IS-95/IS-2000 standards.
In a system in which the 1×EV-DO technology is deployed, a channel is defined by a frequency and time slot combination. Pursuant to a communication session, system users are assigned time slots upon which to communication to effectuate the communications pursuant to the communication session. The time slots are sub-divided into three basic payloads. A data payload, an MAC (Medium Access Control) payload, and a pilot payload are all defined. And, the payloads each define a channel, i.e., a data channel, a MAC channel, and a pilot channel.
The MAC channel is utilized by all current users, i.e., mobile stations, at least within a selected area. Different users are assigned different Walsh spreading functions. The MAC channel is thereby a shared channel, and the power levels at which data is communicated upon the MAC channel must be controlled.
As presently promulgated, the IS-95 system which deploys 1×EV-DO technology fails to set forth a power control scheme by which to control the power levels at which data is communicated upon the MAC channel.
A manner by which to control the power levels of data communicated upon a MAC channel would facilitate the communication of the data in a manner to permit its detection at the mobile station to which the data is communicated.
It is in light of this background information related to packet radio communication systems that the significant improvements of the present invention have evolved.